The Huainan Basin
in eastern China contains abundant shale gas
resources; the Lower Permian is an exploration horizon with a high
potential for shale gas in marine-continent transitional facies. However,
few detailed analyses have investigated shale gas in this area. In
this paper, a comprehensive investigation of the geochemical characteristics,
physical properties, and gas-bearing capacities of shale reservoirs
was conducted, and the resource and exploitation potential were evaluated.
The results show that the cumulative thicknesses of the Shanxi Formation
(P1s) and lower Shihezi Formation (P2xs) are
mostly greater than 35 and 65 m, respectively. The TOC contents of
the P1s and P2xs shale vary from 0.11 to 8.87%
and from 0.22 to 14.63%, respectively; the kerogens predominantly
belong to type II with minor amounts of type I or type III kerogens;
average R
o values range between 0.83 and
0.94% and between 0.82 and 1.02% in P1s and P2xs, respectively; the shale samples are primarily at a low maturity,
while some shale samples have entered the high-maturity stage. The
shale reservoirs have low permeability and porosity in P1s and P2xs, respectively. The pores of the P1s shale reservoir are characterized by well-developed micropores and
transition pores and poorly developed mesopores, while the pores in
the P2xs shale reservoir are all characterized by well-developed
micropores and transition pores and some well-developed macropores;
the different pore types in the shale reservoirs developed in the
organic matter, clay minerals, and pyrite, while a few endogenous
fractures developed in the organic matter and structural fractures
developed in the minerals. The total shale gas contents in P1s and P2xs are 2.85 and 2.96 m3 t–1, respectively. The P2xs shale reservoir has a higher
hydrocarbon generation potential than P1s and has a lower
gas generation potential. The total shale gas amounts in P1s and P2xs are 3602.29–4083.04 × 108 and 2811.04–3450.77 × 108 m3,
respectively. Further research on shale gas exploration and exploitation
for these formations needs to be performed.